Fallout New Vegas CourierXVeronica
by Legitasaurus
Summary: Just my story of the courier meeting Veronica and the events that unfold.
1. Chapter 1

She hadn't been resurrected for long. The courier from the Mojave Express mail company had only been wandering the wastelands surrounding New Vegas for a few weeks.

The doc who _saved_ her wouldn't tell her a thing. Only that she was his property now. She remembered bits of pieces of information about who she was before….. _before. …. Before what?_ She thought to herself as she wandered down the long, cracked road of highway 95. _Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore who I was, I know who I am now_ she declared within her own mind. Speaking out loud to yourself could be dangerous in the Mojave.

Just as that thought left her distracted mind, she walked under a dismayed pre-war power line structure. She was so deep in thought she didn't realize the mistake she was making. Before she even had time to start a new thought, a rope had tripped and was now wrapped around her leg, pulling her upside down into the frame of the tower.

 _Weeeeell shit_ , she thought to herself. Then 5 men came out from behind a nearby billboard and boulder that was close enough to see the action from. They all had weapons of various sizes. _Well_ _ **SHIT**_ , she thought again.

"What do we have here boys? Looks to me like fresh meat!" the closest one said to the rest. He was a man who stood over the rest by a foot.

"She looks nice and soft" another one said with a seductive tone that could have matched a cat's purr. This one was a female that was so strung out on chems that her hair was falling out and she couldn't hold her shotgun without shaking. The courier didn't even realize this was a woman until she spoke.

The courier had been in captive situations before. She knew that they had the advantage over her with numbers and firepower. Maybe she could talk her way out of it?

"I call dibs on seconds, only after Bossman has his turn of course" one of the captors said excitedly.

"No, I get seconds! I spotted her first!" shouted another.

"I'm gettin' seconds and that's that" proudly said the last one.

"You got seconds last time!" hissed one at that remark.

"Wanna fight me for it?" he casually replied back with a smug look on his face.

"Maybe I do" said the man, and he turned his rifle onto the other. He pulled the trigger and shot the man in the shoulder, and he dropped to the ground. All of the other men and the one woman had taken their guns off of the courier and aimed them at each other. Yells drowned out other yells.

Oh god, the courier thought. Images of what these kind of men would do to her if they would kill each other for it sickened her to her stomach. It probably didn't help that she was upside down either.

At this point the yells between the men had become even more violent, as if that was even possible. Then they all opened fire on each other. 10mm bullets streaked across the air missing and hitting targets alike. Shotgun shells flew from their chambers onto the ground around the struggle.

It was over almost as quickly as it had begun. All the Raiders were dead except for the one who had been shot in the shoulder first and had fallen to the ground. He still rolled around holding his wound that was pouring a steady stream of blood.

Mid roll, his head exploded. The bullet came from the smoking barrel of the 9mm handgun held by the courier. She hadn't expected a shootout between the villains who had trapped her, but she wasn't complaining about the outcome. Now she just had to get down.

The rope that held her was just a simple snare that held her 8 feet off the ground. She looked around herself. There was the ground underneath her and the structure of the electrical system around her. The only way to get down would be to cut the rope, but the courier didn't like the idea of falling on her back or worse, her head. She tried to reach the iron bars of the surrounding tower, yet it was one too many inches past her fingertips. To reach the bars she would have to sway back and forth. So that's what she did.

The courier shifted her weight back and forth to gain enough momentum to get to the bars. Just as she was at the apex of her swing, the rope knot holding her weight on the other side of the snare gave way throwing the girl into the bars. She smashed her forehead into one bar and fell to the ground on her back.

 _Damn Raiders_ , she thought, _can't even be trusted to tie a simple knot correctly_. Her vision was blurred and darkening with every breathe. She knew she was going to blackout, yet she still prayed to whoever was listening that she would remain conscious. Nevertheless she slipped away into the darkness.

She woke but didn't open her eyes. Her head felt like someone had opened it up and dropped a grenade inside, but the pain wasn't what woke her up. She felt something else too….. movement. Someone or something was carrying her. Since she had a history with waking up with people who were dangerous she remained still. It was better to have whatever was taking her think that she was still unconscious.

Her hand slid down to her side until it reached her sidearm, the 9mm submachine gun she had stolen from _the doc._ Her fingers embraced the cold metal with a friendly caress. _This was good_ , she thought to herself. If she had her gun still, then that means the whatever had her right now probably wasn't a danger to her. Probably.

The courier wasn't scared. She had never been scared in situations where she wasn't in control. She learned a long time ago that fear only got you hurt more, at least it felt like a long time ago. Daring a peek with one of her eyes the courier only saw blue and fluffy whiteness. _Skies?_ That meant she was on her back where ever she was. going past the gun she felt what she was laying on. There was wood underneath her. _Am I in a trailer?_ She asked herself.

"You're safe with us" a child's voice said calmly. The courier's spine shivered as though the wasteland's temperature lowered 40 degrees instantly. Was the child speaking to her? She stayed silent. "It's okay. I know that you're awake. You don't have to fake it." The child continued.

"And how did you know that?" the courier asked.

"I… I've been watching you. Daddy told me not to… but you're really weird." Daddy? The courier thought for a moment. There was so many questions that were unanswered that she itched.

She opened her eyes to see that she was indeed in a wagon. There were boxes and blankets surrounding her. On one box closest to her she saw the boy who had spoken. He looked to be around 10 years old. "Can you sit up? Daddy said he found you hurt so we brought you along." He flashed a toothy grin.

The courier tried to lift herself up, but her head throbbed like a shotgun going off to the beat of her heart. She propped up herself up with her arm and felt her forehead. There was a baseball sized lump on the center of her forehead. As she touched it she remembered the trap she fell into, and how she had hit her head on the bars.

"How long have I been out?" She asked the boy.

"Only a couple hours" He replied, "Daddy will wanna know that you're awake" And the boy got up and jumped over the wall of the wagon and ran away somewhere.

The courier sat up further and could see over the wagon. She was in the middle wagon of a three brahmin convoy. There were several metal armour clad men and women carrying guns around the animals walking alongside them. She made eye contact with a woman who was wearing a cowboy hat and holding a revolver. The guard smiled at the courier, and she was unsure if she should return the gesture. _You can't just trust everyone with a friendly face._

Suddenly a whistle cut through the air, and everyone and everything came to a halt. The brahmin started looking for grass below their hooves, but they didn't dare step out of formation. All of the guards raised their weapons, ready to spot any sort of trouble in the wasteland.

The courier looked around at the surroundings. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary that she noticed, so she figured this must be the doing of the little boy's father. She looked in the direction that the whistle came from. Coming towards her was the boy she had seen followed by a man in a dirty business suit. _That must be 'Daddy'_ , she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_That must be 'Daddy'_ , she thought.

"Well howdy ma'am. I'm Marshall McGrottel. This here is my caravan, little lady. I found you alongside of the highway a couple miles back with your head beat up and surrounded by dead bodies. My wife patched you up" he said in a matter-a-factly manner. He continued, "That actually brings me to my next point. What happened back there?"

"That depends" the courier said. She then jumped down from the wagon, almost lost her balance from the pain in her head and back, and then stood up straight to appear as though she wasn't hurt as bad as she was and continued, "am I in danger?"

Marshall pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered the courier one to which she denied and lit one of his own. He took a deep drag and looked to the sky as he exhaled. "As long as you're not part of the Legion or any other of them vagrants who kill for the fun of it, then you're as safe as a fly on a brahmin's back."

The courier let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Her shoulders were sore from the fall so she relaxed them. Slumped over she looked much less intimidating. Being only 5', 4" and less than well fed she was small in stature. What the courier lacked in size however she made up for with her wits.

She looked to Marshall. "I was attacked. They set up a trap, and I walked right into it. They had me" She paused remembering the junkies so hooked on different chems that they fought over who gets to do what to her. She shuddered at the thought.

"They got into an argument. It turned into a shootout."

"I reckoned by the amount of jet and psycho we found on their bodies had something to do with it" Marshall said, "Do you know what they were arguing about?"

The courier looked down at her shoes.

Marshalls eyes darkened. "Sorry".

"I survived only because I was 8 feet in the air. Once they all…. _Died_ , I tried to get down. As you can see" She pointed to her wrapped up head, "I fell".

Marshall took a step towards the courier. He raised his hands "You're safe with us. This is my caravan and everyone who is here has earned their place. I'd trust them all with my life and my family. You're welcome to travel with us until you're feeling better."

Marshall smiled. The courier was cautious. She had learned that trust was something that causes hurt.

"Where are you heading?"

He grunted, "The 188. It's not much but it's a nice little stop before you get to the Grub 'n' Stop on your way to New Vegas"

"I think I'll stay with you until then but I can't guarantee that I will after we reach The 188." She told him, "I really appreciate the help. I owe you my life."

"Don't worry about nothin'. I never could say no to a stranger in need." Marshall chuckled.

"Thanks anyways" the courier responded.

"Well we better get a move on. We're only burning daylight standing out here. Will you be alright walking?" Marshall said.

"I'll be fine" she said back.

"Alrighty then. Off we go" With another whistle, the caravan was moving again.

Walking wasn't so bad for the courier. Following Marshall to the front of the caravan, she gently touched her fingertips to the bump on her forehead. The swelling had gone considerably down since she last touched it.

"You said your wife helped me out?" the courier asked the man. "Where is she now?"

"My wife goes to and fro as she pleases. Damn good at it too. She's the sneakiest dame in the whole wasteland. She uses her skills to help the caravan travel. Right now she is scouting the highway up ahead" Marshall said. He sighed. "I wish she didn't insist in going alone… I worry about her, but she works better by herself. 'Sides, she could walk right up to ya and kiss you on your mouth before you saw her" He blushed.

"Sounds lovely" the courier said. She too liked to work alone. Not because she knew she could handle most situations, but rather because she didn't like to worry about the wellbeing of those around her. She had gotten a few _friends_ of hers hurt bad before and didn't plan on making the same mistake twice.

"Isn't it a little dangerous to have a family on the road?" She asked Marshall.

He let out a small chuckle, "Ain't more dangerous than leaving 'um at home, unprotected. At least with them here I know they're safe. I'd rather watch over them myself, you know?"

"No, I don't." The courier said flatly.

"I guess I'd just rather have the closure of knowing whether I was able to protect them in the end." He said and looked to his feet as he walked.

They walked for the next couple of miles in near silence. Marshall made small talk at first, but he eventually gathered that the courier didn't want to talk anymore.

As they got closer to the 188 trading post the sun was only an hour or so from dipping below the horizon. They were only about a mile or so from the destination when the caravan met back up with Marshall' wife.

Just like Marshall had described, she was sneaky. Before the courier even saw her, she was right under her nose nuzzling her face into Marshall's chest with the biggest hug. She was also small like the courier, however she did seem to be a couple inches taller than the courier herself. Although short, she appeared very limber and athletic. Her dark leather clothes hid her body in a way the courier didn't understand.

His wife let go and looked into his eyes with a passionate smile, "All clear up ahead, sugar. All the way to the 188" She looked to the courier with a different but equally as friendly smile. "Look who's still alive and kickin'. When we found you under that electrical tower I wasn't so sure you were alive, but Marshall knew you were so we brought you along. And now here you are!" She held out a hand to the courier, "My name is Laurel. It's a pleasure to meet you"

The courier looked at the woman. She was beautiful in her own way. Her face had age and experience, but her motions carried life. Something about her seemed to make her more trustworthy. The courier accepted her hand with her own and they shook.

"I wish I knew my name or I'd tell ya."

"Oh that's right, I forgot to even ask your name!" Marshall added.

Laurel frowned and smacked him in the chest. She turned back to the courier "That's too bad. What should we call you then?"

 _What have people been calling me_ she thought to herself. What her name was hadn't really mattered to the people trying to hurt or kill her the last couple of weeks. The other _friendly_ people didn't care for finding out what her name was. _I guess it just make it easier to forget them when they're gone if they don't have a name_.

"Call me whatever you want, Laurel. I don't mind"

"I think everyone should have a name. Especially girls who are as pretty as you are" she said with a smile.

The courier blushed. She had only been told that when she was in danger by people she didn't want anything to do with.

"I don't have the right to give you a name, and I respect that you don't have one, so I will let you know if I am talking to you" Laurel said with a small smile.

"It's gonna be dark soon and I'd rather we set up camp at the 188 than out here in the open." Marshall said to his wife.

"Right" she said as she turned her direction towards him. Her tone changed into business rather than fun. "I didn't see any danger in the last stretch of the highway. The 188 is just right around that turn".

"Good. Let's keep moving"


	3. Chapter 3

"Good. Let's keep moving"

Laurel and the courier talked more as they walked. They discussed her injury, and how it had healed so quickly. At that point it had almost it looked like nothing happened at all.

The courier enjoyed being with this caravan. It was nice to travel with people who didn't want to kill or steal from her.

Night had fallen by the time they arrived. The trading post was little more than a shop, another trading caravan, and a few NCR tents located on an overpass.

The courier had enough caps for food, but Marshall insisted on paying for her food and letting her sleep with their group. She accepted the offers giving herself some time to rest.

The caravan set up camp by starting a fire and circling the brahmin and tents around it. It was like something out of a cowboy book the courier read in the last couple of weeks. She was grateful that she remembered how to read. A lot of her motor skills and memories remained, but she still had no idea on who she was before or what she did to end up in certain… _circumstances_.

Although they gave her everything she needed, the McGrottel's couldn't spare another tent. She didn't mind sleeping under the stars, but tonight there was a breeze in the desert keeping her awake. She got up from her sleeping mat on the ground and decided she needed to take a walk.

She walked over to trading post itself. Outside was a bar and several picnic tables. There was one figure at the furthest table looking out to New Vegas. They had a brown cloak that made looking for any features that drew attention useless. The lights from the strip made the city look like a dream, and it caused the figure to become a silhouette against the light. The courier went to the bar.

She knew that Marshall had opened a tab for her, but she felt that using it to buy drinks would be rude. She pulled out her own sack of caps and ordered a beer. _Cheers_ she thought to herself as she took a huge gulp.

The bartender's name was Samuel. She was told that he had lived in Primm with his daughter until they moved away when the Powder Gangers broke out of a prison near there. They set up shop here and had been happy ever since.

"Rough night?" Samuel asked as he cleaned a plate with a rag. He worked the night shift.

"Just not sleeping well" She replied back to him.

"It's a cold night out in the Mojave tonight. It's especially cold if you spend it alone" Samuel said while looking her up and down. "What do ya say about coming and warming up in my bed tonight" he continued with a wink.

"I'm not interested" the courier said as she took another drink of the beer.

"You sure about that?" Samuel hissed. He smiled devilishly and threw down a bag of caps on the counter. He walked over to her side of the bar. "They'll be all yours"

"Not interested" she said a little more forcefully and turned away.

He grabbed her arm and turned her back towards himself. "Listen here you little bitch! I own this stop". His voice darkened, "If I offer you caps, you take them"

"Let go of me!" She yelled as she struggled to break his grip. The struggle had knocked a few glasses and plates off of the bar, surrounding them with broken glass and porcelain.

"The lady said she wasn't interested, buddy. Why don't you let her go, I'll let this one slide, and you can go back to cooking up your garbage of a menu" A new voice said from behind the courier. It was feminine and soft, but also strong and unwavering.

Samuel let go of the courier's arm to turn towards the voice. "And if I don't?" He said in a mocking tone. The courier turned around to see her savior and saw that it was the person in the brown robes. The person's body was unclear before, but now the courier could see the outline of an hourglass hidden within the robes.

"It looks like you already have" The figure remarked in an equally mocking tone. They looked to the courier. "Are you alright?" They asked her.

The courier nodded. She was ready to pull her gun if things got out of hand. _If shit hit the fan, would they be able to hold their own,_ the courier thought to herself. She knew she could shoot accurately and effectively, but had learned that relying on anyone else to do the same could be disastrous. _Does she even have a gun?_

"Hey I'm with the NCR! You can't treat me this way, I have rights! Don't make me get the soldiers". He was not backing down from the figure in the robes. They looked back at Samuel with their head cocked to the side.

"So we're gonna do this the hard way, huh?" The robes flew open and out came a powerfist as fast as a train right into Samuel's gut. The blow threw him over the bar into the shelves of liquor and glass. He fell to the ground still breathing but hurting. He definitely wasn't getting back up anytime soon.

The figure looked to the courier and quickly gasped, "We need to go, NOW!" They turned and ran away from the shop. The courier knew that staying would only make things worse so she turned and followed the figure into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

The courier knew that staying would only make things worse so she turned and followed the figure into the darkness.

Once they were at least a few miles away they stopped running. The courier had no idea which direction she had followed this mysterious stranger. Her only hope was that this person was not going to make her regret following.

The figure slowed down from a jog to a walk and the courier followed suit. They walked off of the road they had been running on. Just to be safe, they found a spot where they couldn't be seen from the road to catch their breath.

"So I'm guessing that happens a lot, right?" The figure said in their soothing voice, but between breaths.

"What makes you say that?" the courier said back.

"Pretty face, nice body. Oh I'm sure you get _hit on_ a lot, Doll face ".

"Yeah I guess so. Who _are_ you?" the courier asked, studying the figure.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Veronica." She pulled back her hood enough to show her face, but she didn't show her hair. Opening her robe she again exposed her curves. She then gave a small curtsy.

"Thanks for that back there. I really needed a hand". The courier stood up straight and brushed herself off. She then pulled out her gun and checked the clip. "Do you think we were followed?" She asked Veronica.

She got on a rock so she could see back down the highway, "I don't think so. Old Sammy will definitely throw a fit, but the NCR won't want to spend the time or energy doing a thing about it".

The courier relaxed. She hadn't realized how tense she was. To help calm her mind she pulled out all of the bullets from her clip to count how many she had left. Simple tasks like this were her best friend in the wasteland.

Veronica examined the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a quiet night in the Mojave wasteland. The spot they had found was an excellent campsite. It was hidden away from the road in a way that if there was a small fire, no one would know the difference.

Veronica leaned against a rock, and she looked at her feet. "This is a great place to spend the night. I think I'm going to stay ". Veronica paused. She then looked at the courier. "Care to join me?"

The courier dropped the bullet she was holding.

She reached down to grab it and said, "You haven't given me any reason to lose trust. Saving me from the 188….." She stopped, and thought about it for a moment. "Why not?"

Veronica's face lit up, even with the dark lighting of the night. "Great!" She exclaimed with joy. "We should be alright if we get a fire going. I could go look for some firewood if you'd like to keep watch down the highway. You know, in case the NCR grows a backbone".

The courier nodded, and Veronica scurried off in look for fallen tree limbs. Left in quiet, the courier finished counting her bullets. _27?_ She thought. _Where did I use-_ she stopped herself mid thought as she remembered being trapped by the raiders. She shuddered. It had felt so long ago, but it was only yesterday.

She climbed up on a rock that was high enough to see down both sides of the road. _This really is a nice spot_ she thought to herself.

From her perch, the courier could see her savior gathering branches to burn.

 _She seems nice,_ the courier said inside her head. _I mean she saved me from that monster… that man… She definitely seems to be more than she appears...Gosh…. She's kinda pretty too…_ She could feel her cheeks getting warm.

Lost in her own thoughts she didn't realize Veronica had been walking back. "Hey Doll face, I never got your name".

Veronica had actually startled the courier, and caused her to jump. She turned away to hide her blush. "I don't have a name. I can't remember anything from before two months ago"

"Oh?" Veronica said, "Nothing at all?".

"Not a thing" The courier responded.

Veronica seemed to be able to understand her pain. She dropped the subject and placed the wood she found in the center of their makeshift tones she said, "Bet you don't have any energy based weapons"

The courier looked down at her conventional submachine gun. "Nope. I've only ever seen a couple laser pistols before. I could try to shoot the wood till it sparks, though" she said with a small smile.

Veronica looked at the courier with a blank stare. "Please don't tell me that's the quality of jokes I'll have to follow up" she winked at the courier and stuck her tongue out.

She then crouched down and pulled a small leather bag from under her cloak. She rifled through it until she found what she was looking for. Pulling out a small, flatish square she held it up. "Have you ever seen one of these in your short term memory?" She asked.

"No I haven't" the courier responded. "What is it?"

"It's a piece of old war technology. Not many people who can remember their whole lives have seen one." She flicked her wrist and tossed it to the courier. Reacting to the object coming at her, she caught it with precision. Examining it she found that it consisted of two parts connected at a joint. It was familiar to her in a way she couldn't understand.

 _Did I know what this was before I lost my memory?_ There was no way she could explain it, but she knew what it was deep down. Instinctively she flipped it open with her thumb. Inside there was a piece of what looked like cotton and a metal wheel. Following the feeling she was experiencing, she pressed down on the wheel. It spun under her fingertip. The wheel created a spark that lit the cotton into a tiny flame. _Interesting_ she thought. She closed the device with a snap and the flame extinguished itself. She turned it over in her hand and saw letters scribbled into the metal, **V+C**.

"Most people couldn't tell that from a rock on the ground. Even if they found one they couldn't figure out how to use it. You're something special" Veronica told her with a smile. She was amazed that the courier had figured it out so quickly.

The courier extended her hand, offering the tool back to Veronica. "It's…. weird" she said. Trying to remember what this object was in her past only hurt her head. She continued, "I don't know what this is, but I remember it somehow".

Veronica reached out to grab the lighter and their fingers brushed each other in the exchange. To the courier, Veronica's fingers were warm and inviting, which meant that hers probably felt as cold as stone. She abandon the thought. "I just don't understand it".

"You seem like a smart gal, I think you'll figure it out" Veronica encouraged. The courier's cheeks blushed once more.

 _Why is she so nice,_ she thought to herself, _I've never met someone like her. Who is she?_

"Anyways, we should get a fire going. The desert isn't getting any warmer" Veronica said. She gathered some dead grass to use a kindling and arranged the wood for a fire. Then she used her lighter to start the flame. The grass caught immediately, but Veronica had to work with it to get the wood burning as well.

The courier hadn't realized how cold she had gotten since they had stopped running. She was shivering and she didn't even notice. She brought her hands to her face to breathe into them in hopes of raising their temperature a bit.

It didn't take long for Veronica to get the fire burning warm. She sat back to relax her body while the courier leaned in to warm herself up. She didn't realize it, but Veronica was studying her.

"So, you don't remember anything at all?" She asked.

The courier had been crouched while next to the fire. She sighed, stood up, then walked to edge of their campsite. Looking out at the darkness she replied, "Not a thing. I mean I obviously know how to do things, but I can't remember who I was or what I did. I don't know if I was a murderer or if I had a family. Someone could be waiting out there for me to come home and I wouldn't know the better". She couldn't look at Veronica. This subject had made her emotional ever since she could remember things again, so she figured she could get away with just pushing her feelings away. The memories were gone, but not the way she felt.

Veronica looked deeply into the fire. "I think I know what you're talking about. The family, I mean" She fiddled with the lighter as she spoke. "That feeling of not knowing if someone out there is waiting for you to come back to them….. I feel that pain sometimes too".

"The worst part is the dreams" the courier said. "Sometimes I relive memories when I sleep, but whenever I try to focus on them, they fade away and I never remember what happened when I wake up. It's awful".

Everything was quiet except for the crackle of the fire. The courier had been through more in the last few weeks than anyone should ever have to endure, and the worst part was that she didn't even understand why she was in that situation.

Her eyes had started to water, but she knew crying wouldn't help anything. Wiping her eyes with her hand, she returned to the campfire.

"What about you?" She asked Veronica. "I don't know much about you, but I know you definitely aren't the person you appear to be".

Veronica laughed at that. "You're right, you don't know me." Her face darkened and her voice became more serious, "Before I tell you anything, however, I need to ask you, what have you heard about the Brotherhood of Steel?"

 _The Brotherhood of Steel?_ the courier thought to herself. She had never heard of them before. It sounded like a group of thugs to her, but she had no idea. "Never heard of them before. Are they dangerous?" She asked.

Veronica leaned back onto her hands. She answered, "No, not immediately. They are an organization that really, and I mean _really,_ likes pre-war technology. They like it enough that they'll attack anyone on sight that they see using it.". She spread out her legs and looked at her small feet. _How the hell does she stand on those things_ the courier thought as she also looked at Veronica's feet.

"So, what do you think?" Veronica asked.

"They sound nice enough. What do they want with all that tech?" The courier said back.

"I think they believe that they are saving the people from themselves" She sighed, "You know, like keeping the evil out of the Devil's hands".

"Why do they matter in getting to know you?" The courier asked.

"Well… I'm one of them" Veronica said back.

"I hope you don't plan on taking my technology" The courier said jokingly.

"Nah, you don't have anything the Brotherhood would want" She joked back. "But you might have _something_ I would want" She said charmingly with a wink.

The courier had been in situations like this before with people of the wastelands. They invited her in and gave her food and water, but they always expected something in return. They never asked, they just took. Men and women alike. They were all monsters.

Yet Veronica was different. She was asking.

 _She just said she was part of this Brotherhood of Steel. How can I trust her?_

"Anyways, we should probably sleep in shifts" Veronica said, "Do you want to keep watch or get some sleep?".

As much as she trusted this girl, she had only met her today.

"I'll stay awake. Why don't you try to get some sleep first. I'll wake you in a couple of hours" The courier told her.

Veronica looked around at the ground she was sitting on. She scuttled a few rocks out of the way, and used her arm as a pillow as she laid down next to the fire. "Nighty-night, doll" she said with a smile on her face as she closed her eyes.

The courier got to her feet. She had been carrying a small backpack since she had left the _Doc's_ office in Goodsprings. Inside she only had a single Nuka-Cola, some empty water bottles that were filled when she found them, a small Dinky the Dinosaur toy from the Novac Gift Shop, and a few scattered caps that were the remainder of all that she was worth in the Wasteland.

The Nuka-Cola had a desiring allure to it, so the courier grabbed it out of her sack as she found a nice spot where she could keep an eye on the road below. She cracked open the lid of the soda and pocketed the cap. With her back against a rock, the courier relaxed herself for the long night ahead.


	5. Chapter 5

After she had been sitting for awhile the courier needed to get up. The hard rock and dirt that she was sitting on hadn't been very forgiving to her legs. They were sore, so she decided to walk around a bit.

She stood up and extended her arms as she stood on her toes. The stretch felt nice, but the courier needed to move around in order to get the cramp out of her legs. She looked down the highway. There wasn't anything in sight except the cool night wind and the dusty old highway. _Safe enough_ she thought to herself.

There wasn't much around their campsite. The area was made up of large boulders that concealed their hideaway, and old, dead trees. The courier noticed an awful smell in the air. It smelt like a sock that was covered in rust and had been on a raider's foot long enough to mutate into its own entity. The smell was bad, but it was faint enough for her to only get whiffs of it in the wind.

 _Might be something dead around here_ she thought. She wandered around the rocks looking out at the empty desert. There was a lot on her mind. From Veronica to the usual 'Who am I really?' her thoughts danced inside her head.

She shuddered as she got a stronger inhale of the mysterious scent. It was getting worse. _Does that mean I'm getting closer?_ Her mind drifted carelessly from thought to thought as she weaved around a fallen tree trunk.

 _If she wanted to hurt me, she would have done it by now, right?_ The courier asked herself. She glanced back towards their makeshift camp. The fire had died down considerably, but there was still the occasional snap from the wood swimming in the flames.

As she stepped around one rock in particular, a gust of wind hit her right in the face. The wind itself was full of whatever she had been smelling. It was so terrible that it had made her recoil from the scent. Her eyes watered and she covered her nose. Wherever it was coming from it was close.

She stopped in her tracks as she got a view of what it was. She hadn't actually seen one in person, but from the description she had gotten from the settlers at sloan, this was no doubt a deathclaw.

It was down the hill about 100 yards from where they had been hiding. To the courier it looked like the monstrosity was eating something the way it was hunched over.

They needed to leave. They needed to leave right now. The courier took a deep breathe and tried to swallow her fear. Tried. Then she backed towards the campsite, not taking her eyes off of the beast. She wanted to turn and run, but she had to fight her instincts. There was no way she was going to leave Veronica helpless.

Just as she was almost out of sight, she stumbled over a fist sized rock she didn't notice before. She fell backwards into the campsite. Scrambling to her feet she saw the deathclaw again, but it was no longer eating.

It had to have heard her because it was standing up on its hind legs looking around for the source of the sound. It got on all fours and sniffed at the ground, trying to find a hint of any scent.

The courier looked over to Veronica who was still sound asleep next to the fire. She snuck snuck over snuck over to her companion. She nudged her shoulder in efforts to wake her. Veronica grunted a tired moan and tried to roll over. The courier nudged harder, but put her hand over Veronica's mouth to stop her from making any more noises.

Veronica's eyes shot open and she grabbed the courier's wrist with one hand and her shoulder with the other as she flipped over onto her back. The courier's chin hit the dirt hard as she was pinned.

"What the hell are you doing!" Veronica exclaimed.

"Shhhhh" the courier hissed back. She pointed over to the rock that was protecting them from the monster she found.

"What are-" Veronica started to say, but she stopped mid sentence. Her eyes grew in terror as she began to catch the scent the courier found. She let go of the courier's arm and got into a crouch. The courier wiped her chin and did the same.

Veronica mouthed to the courier, 'How many?'.

To which the courier raised a single finger.

Veronica reached down and grabbed the power fist she had set next to herself as she slept. She slipped it onto her right hand.

 _Is she going to try and fight that thing?_ The courier dreaded the idea of trying to take on a deathclaw.

She was relieved when Veronica started to back up away from where the monster was. The courier decided to follow her lead and took some light steps backwards as well.

The smell was getting worse with every second, but now Veronica and the courier were past the first row of boulders. The courier had tried to give up fear, because it was only an emotion. It was unnecessary so she had thrown in out the window. She hadn't been scared in weeks, but right now that fear had come back through the window like a brick and smashed into the side of her head. She was terrified.

Veronica could sense the fear she was experiencing. She looked over at the courier and gave a small smile. "Everything is gonna be alright" She whispered.

Right as the words left her mouth, a thundering roar that shook the ground underneath their feet came from in front of them. The deathclaw was standing over the rock on the other side campsite. It had found them.

If they ran now they would only die tired, the courier told herself as she pulled her submachine gun out of the holster. She knew that 27 bullets wouldn't kill this thing, but it was better than nothing.

There was silence between the death machine and the girls.

Veronica made the first move by charging straight at the deathclaw. It came right at her too. The courier was dumbstruck. The distance between them closed quickly and the deathclaw swiped it's razors at Veronica, but she anticipated the attack and she slid underneath it.

Her momentum carried her underneath the towering figure of the deathclaw and she used it to coil into a crouch behind the monster. She extended herself and rocketed powerfist-first into the lower back of the beast. It recoiled forwards, losing its balance from the blow.

The deathclaw quickly regained itself and swung its heavy tail at its attacker. The tail crashed into Veronica's side throwing her through the air into a good sized boulder. She fell to the ground limp.

The courier knew she had to act. Every instinct she had told her to run away, but she couldn't just leave Veronica. Not after everything she had done for her.

The deathclaw turned towards Veronica. It stood on its hind legs and gave a meaty roar of victory, completely ignoring the courier.

This was her only chance, so she took it.

The monstrosity dropped to all fours with intentions to feed. The courier rushed forward, gun in hand at a boulder in between her and the deathclaw. She used the rock as a step and propelled herself onto the back of the deathclaw's head.

Startled by the creature now latched onto its head, the deathclaw stood up straight. It realized what was happening and tried shaking itself to release the human. The courier held on with all her might.

She knew that either she would end up letting go of its head, or that the deathclaw would get the bright idea to use its razor sharp claws to get rid of her. Grabbing the horn of the beast, she brought herself to dark eyes of the creature. They were filled with rage.

She unloaded all 27 bullets directly into the eye socket of the beast.

The deathclaw fell with a rumble that shook the ground enough to shift a couple of boulders.

The courier had been thrown into the campsite, luckily missing some nasty looking rocks. She was slow to sit back up, however. The fall left her dazed, and trembling. She looked over to her companion who had been hurled into a rock. Veronica's body was a still heap on the ground. Seeing her body not moving, the courier scrambled on her hands and knees over to Veronica.

Not knowing the full extent of the damage she had received, the courier slowly rolled her onto her back. She then placed her ear onto Veronica's chest. It was faint, but she could feel small breaths as well as a steady heartbeat.

She was alive. _That's a start_ , she thought. She looked over Veronica's body. _Everything seems fine, but it's hard to tell._ The courier hadn't ever been in a situation like this before. She had no idea what to do. Without Veronica's help, she had no idea how to tell if she was okay or not.

(AN: Sorry that I've been slow in writing this. I've been going through a lot with school, fallout 4, and the holidays. I promise I'll keep writing this story though!)


	6. Chapter 6

The courier examined Veronica's body to the best of her ability. She wasn't bleeding…. Badly. Veronica's lip was cut open and there was a small trickle of blood coming from her nostril. It was hard to tell if the rest of her was fine with her cloak covering her body so well. She needed to to be sure however.

 _Please forgive me_ she thought as she opened up the cloak revealing her dark clothes underneath. The courier's mind flashed with images of waking up to people ripping open her clothes as she woke. She fought back stomach bile just thinking about those people.

She pushed those thoughts to the deepest part of her mind and continued. The courier knew she had to do this though. She reminded herself that the situation is different now. _I'm doing this for her safety, not my own personal gain_.

Taking a deep breath, the courier bent over Veronica and put her hands out. She needed to check her arms and legs to see if any bones were broken. _Legs first,_ she thought. She gently placed her hands on Veronica's closest leg, her right leg.

The courier could still feel the heat of Veronica body through the leather pants she was wearing. She started on the upper leg with a hand on both the inside and outside of the thigh, working her way down to the ankle. Nothing seemed out of place. _It feels okay. There definitely aren't and bones poking out._

 _One leg down,_ she thought to herself. She reached across that leg to get to the other. Feeling that leg the same way, she checked it off of her mental list. There was no way to tell if there was any internal damage without striping Veronica down. That was where the courier drew the line. She was not violating Veronica that way. She decided she would just have to hope she would wake up so she could ask.

With that, she skipped her torso and went to the right arm. Veronica's power fist had remained on when she was thrown. The courier carefully lifted her arm and removed the weapon. It was heavier than she expected. This was the first power fist she had ever seen, and she didn't want to break it or hurt herself so she set it down carefully on the ground next to her.

She started near the armpit and worked her way down to Veronica's hand. As her hands brushed Veronica's palm, her heart fluttered. She quickly regained herself. _Why am I thinking of stupid things when I have to make sure she's okay? I'm such an idiot,_ she screamed internally.

Clearing her head, she reached for the other arm. She awkwardly felt the upper arm as she reached across Veronica's body. Everything was fine until she got to her forearm. Something was off. There was a grapefruit sized bump on Veronica's forearm just below the elbow. _This isn't good._ The courier's breathing starting getting faster as she examined the bump with her hands.

Nothing was sticking out of the skin, but the courier could feel that there was a clean break. She didn't have much medical experience. Thinking back, the courier remembered one of the workers at the mine in sloan, and how they had a disfigured arm of they're own. She also remembered how he had told her that his only regret was that he never set his arm when it broke. If he had it might had been saved.

She knew what she had to do, but not whether she could do it or not. She sat back and took a deep bre1ath. The courier needed a clear head for this. Looking back down at Veronica, she could see that she was still breathing. This was a huge risk, but it might be the only way for Veronica's arm to heal the right way, the courier's conscious whispered.

The courier moved to Veronica's left side to reach the break from a better angle. It was now or never and she knew that. She placed one hand on Veronica's lower forearm and the other on her elbow. She made sure her grip was tight as her hands were starting to sweat. "I'm so sorry" she said softly.

She ripped her hands apart with all her might, the bone cracking into place under her fingertips.

Veronica's eyes shot open as she sat up straight, screaming. After her breath had completely left her body she collapsed back onto the ground with her right hand across her body on the break. The courier's eyes were wide. She was not expecting that reaction but she understood it.

"What happened" Veronica said through heavy breathing, "where is that monster?"

"The deathclaw? It's dead" the courier had actuality forgotten about it, despite the awful smell that filled the area.

"You killed it?" She asked the courier, looking up at her in disbelief.

"Yeah" The courier replied. She looked at Veronica's arm. "I'm sorry about that, I had to set it now or it wouldn't heal right. And I figured since you were asleep…" she trailed off.

"Oh this?" Veronica lifted her arm, "This is fine. Didn't hurt a bit".

"Your reaction says otherwise".

"Yeah well… How did you kill that thing?" She asked switching topics.

The courier explained the events from when she first saw the deathclaw up to reseting Veronica's arm.

"You're hella brave….. and stupid" Veronica said, "What made you think you could take on a deathclaw all by yourself?"

"Who said I did? I was trying to save you. And you tried to take it on first, so don't give me that!"

"Fair enough" She replied. Veronica was now sitting with her back to a rock. She had taken a study branch, broken it to length, and used strips of her now torn cloak to tie it to her arm as a splint.

The sky had changed from black to a dull blue as it became dawn. "So, I'm getting tired of the stench of deathclaw. How about we get a move on and leave this corpse behind us?"

The courier couldn't agree more.

Veronica knew the Mojave well. Much better than the courier had thought anybody could know it. She also claimed to be able to tell where she was in the wasteland just by looking at the immediate surroundings. Though it was near pitch black during the night, she had known exactly where they were after sprinting away from the 188.

Shortly after leaving the campsite, along with that beast, they could once more see the glowing lights and attractive tower that signified New Vegas. The city was glowing like a star in the dim morning light. The courier wondered who built such an amazing place or how it was even still there. It was almost like it was reaching out and calling for her

She looked back to her companion. Veronica was leading the way, but she didn't know where she was leading her. She didn't have to follow Veronica, yet something about her was even more alluring than the city. Even as she walked with a slight limp, she looked elegant, like her steps were planned, or they were just lucky. After all, she did just take on a deathclaw and only ended up with a broken arm.

They hadn't been walking for very long, yet the whole time they had been quite. The courier who had been falling behind quickened her stride and caught up. She studied Veronica's features. Her face was soft and round, naturally friendly. She also always seemed to have an itty bitty smile. Not enough to notice, but enough to let you know she was thinking of something that made her happy.

Before they left the camp, Veronica used even more of her cloak to fasten a makeshift sling for her arm. The courier had only been using her instincts and guessing when trying to apply first aid to her. Veronica seemed to actually know what to do. _Who are the Brotherhood of Steel and how much knowledge do they actually have?_ She thought to herself.

"So tell me again how you killed a deathclaw with only a sub machine gun?" Veronica asked looking over at the courier with a puzzling look.

The courier herself wasn't even sure how she had done it. After the adrenaline had wore off, she wasn't sure if what she remembered was how it had actually happened. It was all so unbelievable, even to her. Especially to her. "I don't know" she said as she kicked a stone that had been squatting peacefully.

"It's just so crazy. Not many people take on a deathclaw all by themselves and live to tell about it". She continued to look forward as she walked. They chose to walk as far away from the road as they could, which happened to be at the foot of some large hills. Avoiding raider junkies was in their best interest seeing as Veronica's arm was broken and the courier didn't have any ammunition left

If the courier was being honest with herself, she would say that she had absolutely no idea where Veronica was taking her. She had gotten into bad situations from trusting the wrong people before, but something about Veronica felt different to her. It was almost like she gave off an angelic aura that drew her in; made her want to take the risk of being around.

The courier continued the conversation with, "So, how does your arm feel?"

Veronica glanced down as she hobbled, but quickly returned her gaze forward to check her surroundings, then to the courier. "It's not that bad. It'll feel a whole lot better when I can get some stimpacks and some proper treatment. Not that you didn't do an excellent job fixing me" She said with a wink that released a flock of butterflies into the courier's stomach.

All of these new emotions were making her sick. It probably didn't help that she hadn't eaten for awhile. Her stomach growled as she walked. She thought about the last time she had eaten. It had only been the previous night at the 188, but she figured that considering what they had gone through that night that she was lucky she wasn't more hungry.

The peaceful walk that the two were sharing was interrupted by the cracking of gunshots in the distance. Their distinct echoes cut through the desert. The courier and Veronica both stopped in their tracks. Instinctively, they both also crouched down to better analyze the situation.

There were no bullets whizzing past them or striking anywhere around them. _Good,_ the courier thought, _maybe we have the jump on them_. Veronica's eyes squinted as she scanned the area. The courier did a 180 and checked behind them. She drew her gun. She knew there weren't any bullets inside, but it still looked as though it did.

The courier felt a tap on her shoulder. Veronica had found the source of the gunshots. In the distance, about 300 yards or so, there was a farm silo surrounded by people. From their position, they could see rifles and their flashes as they went off.

"They're shooting at that tower," Veronica said in a quiet voice, "Someone must be using it as a vantage point, and they want whoever it is dead".

The courier's curiosity was peaked. "We should get closer. Try to find out what's going on". She said without taking her eyes of the firefight.

Veronica looked at her like she just threw up. "You do realize we're in no position to fight,right?". The courier was silent. "Right?"

She creeped forward. Veronica let out a deep sigh, shook her head, then followed behind her.

James pushed against the iron as bullets rattled the wall behind him. The silo he had chosen to take cover in had protected him for a couple of hours, but he had no idea how much longer it would keep out the raiders.

Ever since he left the Capital Wasteland three years ago he'd been chased all over post-apocalyptic America. To him, it was a miracle he had made it this far. Sadly though, the west coast was in no better condition than the east. He had lost too many friends on his journey, and now it seemed as though it was coming to an end trapped in an old pre-war silo. Outmanned, outgunned, and backed into a corner. He could hear shouting between gunshots out the window near his head. These raiders wanted him bad.

He dared a peek, but only got a glimpse of four raiders before they concentrated their fire on the opening. It seemed like there was only one way out of this, and it didn't end with him on top. Not for a second did he plan on going out without taking as many people as he could with him.

Back when he stopped through New Reno he found a smoking deal on some C-4 remote detonated plastic explosive. He was a sucker for any type of explosive, so he had bought it immediately. It surprised even him that he hasn't used them yet while traveling through the remains of Nevada.

Earlier he had strategically placed the bombs at the base of the silo in case of something like this happening. He lowered his head in sorrow. It seemed so futile to come this far and to end it all here. He looked into his hands. In the right was his first weapon he had ever gotten. It was only a classic model 10mm handgun, but it had been with him from the very beginning. In his other hand was the remote detonator. He flicked open the safety and his thumb hovered over the red button. He pressed down

Everything went silent. A single bead of sweat ran down his nose then fell to his finger. "Am I dead?" He said aloud as he looked around.

Then he realized that he wasn't dead, the raiders had just stopped shooting. Something wasn't right about this to him. He looked around for any other way to look outside. Not far from himself he found a rusted through hole in the siding of the silo. It was only big enough for him to see straight ahead when he looked through it.

With his limited vision he could only see one raider. They seemed to be frantically searching for something in a bag. Moving slightly James could make out another who was searching through a backpack. He put his ear to the hole to see if he could find out what was going on. All he could make out was, 'I don't got any!' and something about, 'It was Jimmy's turn!'.

James sat back, furrowed his brow, and stroked his beard. He suddenly burst put laughing as he realized what was going on. "They've run out of ammo! Freaking idiots!". He cackled so hard that he had to wipe a tear from his face.

 _Wait a minute,_ he thought. He looked down in his hand at the detonator. Peeking his head over the edge of the catwalk he was on, he looked at the bombs. "Fuckin' duds? Seriously?" He said as he brought his forehead into the palm of his hand. "When are you gonna learn James, explosives aren't cheap. Period". He reached for his backpack and placed the detonator back in the bag.

Now he really didn't have a way out. He crawled over to the window again to dare another look. All he saw was four raiders sitting on the ground while one was still standing. "You gotta come out sometime little man!" he yelled at the tower, "We got all day to wait for ya, heck we even got all night!"

That didn't sound to good to James. He decided to respond. _Maybe these raiders are different. Maybe I could persuade them to go away_ , he thought. He started, "You really don't have to. I promise I don't have anything you'd want. I'm sure I don't even taste that good".

"It's not us that wants ya so bad," The raider replied. "But yeh can bet yo sweet ass that we gonna be the ones to bring you in".

There were loads of people who wanted James dead. Whoever wanted him now would just have to get in line. "Well if you insist, I'll just have to insist not," James said proudly. He knew he was stalling, but he had nothing to stall for. Old habits die hard for some people.

The courier poked her head out from behind the boulder. They were much closer now, and they could see the whole scene better. The silo was surrounded by ten or so men. They were dressed a bit better than most Chem junkies around New Vegas, but it wasn't hard to tell that they were still raiders. The men had guns, but they had thrown them to the ground while the girls were sneaking over. Luckily, none of the raiders were on perimeter watch or they would have easily seen them creeping up to them.

She lowered her head and turned to Veronica, whispering to remain hidden. "I'm pretty sure none of them saw us on our way over".

Veronica shot her a look that said 'Of course not'. Then said, "They wouldn't have spotted us from way back there either," in a hushed tone. She continued by asking, "What's going on?" as she tilted her head in the direction of the silo.

"Not sure, they seemed to start communicating with whoever is in the silo," the courier replied.

Veronica gave a face of disbelief. "Raider's negotiating? No no no…." She trailed off. "Bounty hunters maybe?"

"Maybe. I really can't tell. Whoever they are, they seem to want something… But why did they throw away their guns?" The courier chewed her lip as the pondered the situation.

"I think I heard something about them not having ammo on our way over. That definitely evens the odds," Veronica added. She looked down at her makeshift sling. "Sorta".

"Listen," The courier said while pointing her finger in the direction of the men.

"We gotta get 'im out sometime"

"Well, any ideas, boss?"

"Hey billy! You still got them fire bottles?"

"Yeah! I got em 'ight here"

"Job says alive. Says nothin' bout being a little burnt".

The courier didn't know what, but she knew something needed to be done. They couldn't just leave whoever was in the silo by themselves. That would most likely mean signing their death certificate for them.

Veronica looked at her. "It was your bright idea to come over here, so what's the next step. I'm sure that if we go back the way we came we-"

She was cut off by the courier who had stood up and walked out of cover.

The courier cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "HEY!". She had interrupted the raider who was talking with the person in the tower, and everyone had turned to look at her. Chills up her spine froze her solid. "What's going on here?" She said as solidly as she could.

The only man who was standing let out a sigh as he shook his head. He lifted his hands and smiled. "There ain't nothing for you to see here, miss. Why don't you move along? Unless…" His voice faded as he looked at his men sitting on the ground around himself. A devilish grin grew on his greasy mug.

The hair on the courier's neck stood on end as the sitting me returned the smile and started to rise. She pulled her empty weapon out of its holster, raising it at the leader. "Let's not doing anything we might regret," She said with a slight quiver in her voice. Her hand was shaking, but the gun was still pointed dead center on the man.

"How about you not do anything _you_ might regret," He said back. His lips remained twisted as he nodded. Suddenly one member of the gang grabbed her from behind, knocking the submachine gun from her grasp. He held her hands to her chest to restrict them. _My god,_ she thought as the horrible stench of old blood, body odor, and oil filled her nostrils.

"I got 'er!" The man shouted out. The other men let out a cheer. She writhed and struggled as much as she could in hopes of getting away, but the man held tight. Since he towered over her, he easily lifted her off of the ground, pulling her to the crowd. Another greasy looking man pranced over to them in pure joy. Using his momentum, the prancer delivered a punch into the exposed gut of the courier. She tried to recoil from the blow, but her captor held her tight.

The leader slinked over to the courier like a predator to wounded prey. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled it to raise her face to his. Using his other hand, he caressed her cheek. "You're a pretty, little doll aren't you?" He hissed.

She spit in his face.

"You little bitch!" He screamed as he raised his hand to slap her. His hand then burst like a blooming flower as the bullet went straight through as it made its way to its target; the eye socket of the man holding the courier. She dropped a few inches as his body went limp, and then she fell to the ground from shock covered in blood.

Next came a powerfist to the face of the leader, cracking his skull on impact. Veronica then carried her remaining force into a spin where she released her powerfist sending it rocketing towards the prancing man. It struck him in the center of his chest sending him backwards and the powerfist high in the air.

Everything happened so fast that courier almost couldn't process what was right in front of her. It was all a blur of movement and blood. Her eyes could see a figure right in front of her. They came into focus, and she realized it was Veronica. To the courier, she looked as though she was trying to say something, but she could only hear a faint ringing in her ear. "-ou okay?!"

The courier tilted her head in confusion. A man ran up behind Veronica, tire iron in hand, and tried to strike her. She turned around and used her non-broken arm to deflect the blow, and then countered with her elbow to his jaw that caused him to fall to his hands and knees. She then delivered a firm kick to his chin that had him out for the count.

Looking past Veronica, the courier could see more bodies on the ground. Veronica blocked her view as she kneeled down to her. She talked in a smooth voice, but the words weren't quite coming through to her. She looked up into Veronica's eyes. They were shaking with fear and worry. Veronica gently put her hands on the courier's shoulders. "Are you hurt anywhere?" The clarity of Veronica's voice startled her.

"I…. I don't know," the courier replied, "I don't think so,".

Veronica wrapped her arms around the courier and held her close. She whispered into her ear, "Good. I hate losing people,".

The courier was unsure of what was happening. She had never met someone who cared so much about her. Veronica had put her life on the line more than once now to protect her.

Veronica released the courier from her hug and looked into her eyes with a different expression than before. To the courier, it felt like she was looking right into her soul. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you realize what could have happened? Why would you come out here without a plan?" Veronica seemed to be getting more angry the more she spoke. "Do you even think before you do something or is it just stupid inspiration? What did you-".

"I needed to do something! I couldn't just watch them to that!" The courier replied raising her voice with emotion while lifting herself up to a sit

Veronica leaned away with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath, and then opened them again looking down as she spoke. "It would have just sucked if you died and stuff,". She met the courier's gaze again. "I guess you can thank your damsel in distress though," She finished as she pointed over her shoulder to the silo.

(AN: Sorry for such a long wait. I've been swamped with a million other things, but if it helps, this is the longest chapter so far to go with the longest wait.)


End file.
